College Basketball Scandalhttps://www.businessinsider.com/category/college-basketball-scandal
en-usSun, 15 Sep 2019 06:48:27 -0400Sun, 15 Sep 2019 06:48:27 -0400The latest news on College Basketball Scandal from Business Insiderhttps://static3.businessinsider.com/assets/images/bilogo-250x36-wide-rev.pngBusiness Insiderhttps://www.businessinsider.com
https://www.businessinsider.com/one-and-done-to-nba-may-be-done-2018-10The NBA introduces plan to allow top high school hoops players to skip college and earn 6-figure salaries as proshttps://www.businessinsider.com/one-and-done-to-nba-may-be-done-2018-10
Thu, 18 Oct 2018 16:41:00 -0400Meredith Cash
<p><img src="https://static5.businessinsider.com/image/5bc8ce287e423919c943ce84-840/adam-silver.jpg" border="0" alt="Adam Silver" data-mce-source="Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images" /></p><p></p>
<ul class="summary-list">
<li>The NBA has long sought to find a way to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-nba-is-working-to-end-the-one-and-done-rule-2018-3">allow players to skip college</a> and funnel straight into the pros.</li>
<li>With <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/ap-testimony-ends-at-trial-on-payments-in-college-basketball-2018-10">college basketball under fire</a> for paying high school recruits in exchange for commitments to specific programs, the NBA will offer a path straight for elite high school prospects to skip college and enter the pros right away.</li>
<li>Starting in the 2019-2020 season, the NBA G League will offer&nbsp;$125,000 contracts to select&nbsp;<span>elite players who are at least 18 years of age.</span></li>
</ul>
<p><span><br />The one-and-done era of college basketball may finally be nearing its end.</span></p>
<p><span>The NBA announced Thursday that the G League would extend six-figure contract offers to top high school recruits, providing them with an option to join the pros straight out of high school for the first time since the NBA instituted the one-and-done rule in 2005.</span></p>
<p><span>According to the one-and-done rule, players are not eligible for the NBA Draft until they are 19 years old, but starting in the 2019-2020 season, the NBA G League will&nbsp;</span>offer&nbsp;$125,000 "Select Contracts" to&nbsp;<span>elite players who are at least 18 years of age by September 15 before the given season.</span></p>
<p><span>"Select Contracts are an answer to the basketball community's call for additional development options for elite players before they are eligible for the NBA," said NBA G League President Malcolm Turner.&nbsp; "The supporting infrastructure surrounding these newly-created Select Contracts is designed to provide a rich offering of basketball and life skills developmental tools for top young players to grow along their professional paths from high school to the pros."</span></p>
<p><span>These contracts with the G League provide top recruits with a chance to earn money while getting acquainted with the NBA and higher-level competition. Joining the G League out of high school will also enable&nbsp;prospects to sign endorsement deals and hire agents before declaring for the NBA Draft, both of which are not allowed under NCAA regulations.</span></p>
<p>The NCAA's notion of amateurism has long prevented student-athletes from capitalizing on their talents for financial gain, so the NBA's new policy could provide a legitimate alternative to playing in college for one year.</p>
<p>For successful college basketball coaches who have embraced the one-and-done rule to build star-studded, freshman-filled rosters year after year, like Kentucky's John Calipari and Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, Select Contracts could derail their recruiting efforts.</p>
<p>Additionally, the G League unveiled their new plan the same day testimony ended in a New York <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ap-testimony-ends-at-trial-on-payments-in-college-basketball-2018-10?r=UK&amp;IR=T">trial surrounding corruption in college basketball recruiting</a>. Last year, an <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/college-basketball-bribery-scandal-arrests-2017-9">FBI investigation revealed the dark underbelly of college basketball</a>, and this trial has <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/scandal-includes-big-college-basketball-names-2018-10">illuminated specific coaches, players, and programs</a> that may have engaged in bribery and fraud &mdash; both federal crimes &mdash; to secure top recruits.</p>
<div data-bi-ad="" id="ad-76130" data-force="" data-type="ad" data-adunit="business-insider/desktop/sportspage/sports/post" data-pagetype="post" data-tag="college-sports" data-pos="atf" data-authors="meredith-cash" data-views="" data-region="Desktop In Post Ad" data-responsive="[{&quot;browserLimit&quot;:[0,0],&quot;slotSize&quot;:[[300,250],&quot;fluid&quot;]},{&quot;browserLimit&quot;:[600,0],&quot;slotSize&quot;:[[300,250],&quot;fluid&quot;]},{&quot;browserLimit&quot;:[1260,0],&quot;slotSize&quot;:[[728,90],&quot;fluid&quot;]},{&quot;location&quot;:&quot;inline&quot;}]" data-url="ncaa-basketball-scandal-court-case-2018-10" data-amazontamsizes="[[300,250],[728,90]]" data-google-query-id="CMCTqeDekN4CFY3ZwAodZgEDDQ">
<div id="google_ads_iframe_/4442842/business-insider/desktop/sportspage/sports/post_3__container__">For high school players looking for immediate compensation, the NBA G League's path to the pros could be an appealing option, especially compared to the sketchy, under-the-table deals rife at the collegiate level.</div>
<div></div>
<div>Only time will tell how top high school hoopers will take to this initiative, but between the recent recruiting scandal and the NBA's alleged plan to <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2018/8/29/17796312/one-and-done-rule-nba-age-limit-usa-basketball-partnership">eliminate the one-and-done rule by 2021 or 2022</a>, the future of college basketball is looking bleaker by the day.</div>
</div><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/one-and-done-to-nba-may-be-done-2018-10#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-womens-soccer-fifa-world-cup-best-american-team-2019-6">The US women's team won the World Cup. Here's why American women are so good at soccer.</a></p> https://www.businessinsider.com/ap-kansas-north-carolina-state-newly-mentioned-in-ncaa-case-2018-4More big schools named in FBI's college basketball bribery scandalhttps://www.businessinsider.com/ap-kansas-north-carolina-state-newly-mentioned-in-ncaa-case-2018-4
Wed, 11 Apr 2018 09:51:00 -0400
<p><img src="https://static2.businessinsider.com/image/5ace11b6146e711c008b45a5-1265/gettyimages-142165959.jpg" alt="NCAA college basketball" border="0"></p><p></p><ul><li><strong>Kansas and North Carolina State are the latest schools named in the college basketball bribery scandal.</strong><br></li><li><strong>A federal indictment alleges that Adidas officials paid parents of athletes in exchange for attending the schools.<br></strong></li><li><strong>Prosecutors says Adidas reps agreed to pay one Kansas recruit's family $90,000. <br></strong></li></ul><hr><p><br>NEW YORK (AP) &#8212; Kansas and North Carolina State are the latest schools to be swept up in a bribery scandal involving college basketball.</p><p>A rewritten federal indictment released Tuesday in New York alleges that an Adidas officials paid parents of athletes willing to commit to the schools.</p><p>Prosecutors say an Adidas representative agreed to pay $90,000 to the family of a Kansas recruit and $40,000 to a recruit at North Carolina State.</p><p>Prosecutors say money helped secure the players' commitments to play college basketball at the schools and ensured the North Carolina State recruit signed an Adidas sponsorship deal when he entered the NBA. He entered the draft last June.</p><p>In the Kansas case, the student-athlete made a surprise announcement last August to attend the school.</p><p>___</p><p>For more AP college basketball coverage: http://collegebasketball.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_Top25</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ap-kansas-north-carolina-state-newly-mentioned-in-ncaa-case-2018-4#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> https://www.businessinsider.com/college-basketball-scandal-kenny-smith-ncaa-2018-3TNT NBA analyst Kenny Smith sounds off on NCAA: If it were anything other than sports, people would have been locked uphttps://www.businessinsider.com/college-basketball-scandal-kenny-smith-ncaa-2018-3
Tue, 06 Mar 2018 17:13:29 -0500Scott Davis
<p><strong><img src="https://static3.businessinsider.com/image/5a9f0a4e5cc41019008b459e-1500/kenny smith.jpg" alt="kenny smith" data-mce-source="Stephen Lovekin/Getty" /></strong></p>
<ul>
<li><strong>College basketball has been rocked by an FBI investigation into corruption.</strong></li>
<li><strong>On Tuesday, TNT analyst and former NBA star Kenny Smith said the NCAA needs to fix what's become a "predatorial" system.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Smith said one of the biggest issues is that players don't have any representation, which pits the rules against them.</strong></li>
</ul>
<hr />
<p>The college basketball world has been rocked by an FBI investigation into corruption and shady recruiting tactics.</p>
<p>The probe, which remains ongoing, has shone a light on underground payments made to prospects and their families to go to schools and sign with agents, as well as other businesses.</p>
<p>On Tuesday, speaking from the NCAA Tournament media day, TNT analyst and former NBA star Kenny Smith said the college basketball system has become "predatorial" and needs fixing.</p>
<p>"NCAA is looking at how to do a better job enforcing their rules instead of looking at why the predatorial environment is created," Smith said. "There's a predatorial environment that their rules have created, which makes people feel undervalued."</p>
<p>Smith harped on the reported recruiting tactics of coaches, agents, and businessmen, saying that 50-year-olds are targeting 17-year-old high-school prospects. He said if the same practices were going on in another industry, the justice system would have acted quicker.</p>
<p>"The rules are creating the predatorial environment," he said, adding,&nbsp;"If that was anything other than sport, if it was, people would have been locked up. But because it's sport, it took them, it's taking longer. If it was anything other than sport, where 50-year-old men were preying on 17-year-olds &mdash; come on."</p>
<p>Smith said the system could improve by giving players "representation," thus allowing both sides to have negotiations about the system.</p>
<p>"<span style="font-weight: 400;">It's basically taxation without representation," Smith said, "because they're making rules for a 17-year-old coming in and he's not represented there by anyone."</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Smith said players should have lawyers on their sides negotiating the rules with the NCAA to come up with a better system.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"There's no representation. That's why the NBA Players Association was formed, players unions were formed. That's why those unions were formed &mdash; to have representation before you make rules for me that I have to abide by. How can I participate and how can it be fair if there's no representation? So whatever rules, I think they said there's 4,600 rules in the NCAA guideline book, and none of them were represented by those kids."</span></p>
<p>In light of the scandals in college basketball, many critics have spoken up potential ways to try to fix the system. The NBA is reportedly considering changing the league's age limit and finding a way for high-school players to bypass college and join the league. LeBron James suggested creating a farm system, which, coincidentally, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/nba-players-one-and-done-should-end-2018-3">the NBA may already have in place</a> with the G League.</p>
<p>The NCAA Tournament begins on March 13.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/nba-players-one-and-done-should-end-2018-3" >NBA players have a simple reason for wanting to eliminate the 'one-and-done' rule, and the league might already be ready for it</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/college-basketball-scandal-kenny-smith-ncaa-2018-3#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/300-million-world-cup-stadium-is-nearly-abandoned-2018-6">Brazil spent an estimated $300 million on a World Cup stadium that now sits nearly abandoned</a></p> https://www.businessinsider.com/sean-miller-denies-espn-report-arizona-wildcats-coach-2018-3Sean Miller to stay on as Arizona Wildcats coach after denying report that allegedly tied him to $100,000 payment for top prospecthttps://www.businessinsider.com/sean-miller-denies-espn-report-arizona-wildcats-coach-2018-3
Thu, 01 Mar 2018 16:07:31 -0500Tyler Lauletta
<p><img src="https://static2.businessinsider.com/image/5a985abae54eb618008b457c-1248/sean-miller.jpg" alt="Sean Miller" data-mce-source="Christian Petersen/Getty Images"></p><p></p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Arizona Wildcats head coach Sean Miller denied any wrongdoing at a press conference on Thursday after an ESPN report tied him directly to a $100,000 payment meant to help secure a star recruit.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Miller said the alleged conversation that ESPN claimed had been caught on an FBI wiretap never took place, and came out strong against the story while never naming the network directly.</strong></li>
<li><strong>ESPN has stated that it is standing by its original report amidst Miller's denial.</strong></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<p><br>Arizona Wildcats head coach Sean Miller denied any wrongdoing at a press conference on Thursday after <a href="https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/22559284/sean-miller-arizona-christian-dawkins-discussed-payment-ensure-deandre-ayton-signing-according-fbi-investigation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">an ESPN report</a> alleged that he had a part in arranging a $100,000 payment in order to secure a star recruit.</p>
<p><span>"Let me be very, very clear — I have never discussed with Christian Dawkins paying DeAndre Ayton to attend the University of Arizona," Miller said, in a clear rebuke of the allegations brought up by the ESPN report last week. "Any reporting to the contrary is inaccurate, false, and defamatory."</span></p>
<p>ESPN's initial report <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/arizona-sean-miller-fbi-wiretap-2018-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claimed that the</a><span><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/arizona-sean-miller-fbi-wiretap-2018-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> FBI had intercepted calls in which Miller spoke with Christian Dawkins</a>, a "runner" for sports agent Andy Miller and a central figure of the FBI's probe. </span></p>
<p><span>In his press conference, Miller denied any wrongdoing related to the case, and offered a sharp criticism of the ESPN and the story, although he never mentioned the network by name.</span></p>
<p><span>You can watch a clip of Miller's statement below.</span></p>
<div>
<blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">"There was no such conversation"<br><br>Sean Miller denies an "innacurate, false and defamatory" report that he discussed paying DeAndre Ayton <a href="https://t.co/5fnCJSV7Zy">pic.twitter.com/5fnCJSV7Zy</a></p>— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) <a href="https://twitter.com/SInow/status/969297050381750272?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 1, 2018</a>
</blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>
<p><span>Arizona had already been tied to the ongoing <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/college-basketball-bribery-scandal-arrests-2017-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FBI investigation into corruption</a> within college basketball when assistant coach Emanuel Richardson was arrested along with Dawkins in 2017, but Miller had said at the time that he knew nothing of Richardson's alleged bribery.</span></p>
<p><span>The controversy has already cost Arizona. Shareef O'Neal, son of Shaquille O'Neal and one of the top high school recruits in the country, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/shaquille-oneals-son-shareef-decommits-arizona-fbi-probe-2018-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">decommitted from Arizona when the news broke and will now be attending UCLA</a> in the fall. Additionally, the Wildcats lost their game last Saturday against the Oregon Ducks, after Miller was pulled from the sidelines while the University worked through the allegations against the coach.</span></p>
<p><span>Still, the team remains ranked 19th in the country and sits atop the Pac-12 standings.</span></p>
<p>Arizona is set to play Stanford on Thursday night, with Miller back on the sidelines after his brief absence from the bench. ESPN has stated that <a href="https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/22616244/sean-miller-arizona-wildcats-coach-denies-report-discussed-paying-recruit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">it is standing by their original story</a>.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/miami-unc-half-court-buzzer-beater-2018-2" >March Madness starts early as Miami downs UNC with half-court dagger at the buzzer</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sean-miller-denies-espn-report-arizona-wildcats-coach-2018-3#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/300-million-world-cup-stadium-is-nearly-abandoned-2018-6">Brazil spent an estimated $300 million on a World Cup stadium that now sits nearly abandoned</a></p> https://www.businessinsider.com/shaquille-oneals-son-shareef-decommits-arizona-fbi-probe-2018-2Shaquille O'Neal's son is going to UCLA, cutting ties with Arizona amid the school's corruption scandalhttps://www.businessinsider.com/shaquille-oneals-son-shareef-decommits-arizona-fbi-probe-2018-2
Wed, 28 Feb 2018 10:31:00 -0500Tyler Lauletta
<p><img src="https://static6.businessinsider.com/image/5a91ec80aae60539008b4629-1157/shareef-oneal.jpg" alt="Shareef ONeal" data-mce-source="Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Apple"></p><p></p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Shareef O'Neal — a son of the NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal — announced on Tuesday that he would be playing for the UCLA Bruins at the start of next season.</strong></li>
<li><strong>The top basketball recruit decommitted from the University of Arizona days earlier amid the school's bribery scandal.</strong></li>
<li><strong>An ESPN report last week said Arizona head coach Sean Miller had been caught on a wiretap discussing a possible $100,000 payment in exchange for landing a star recruit who joined the team this season.</strong></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<p>The <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/college-basketball-bribery-scandal-arrests-2017-9">FBI investigation into corruption in college basketball</a> is already having big ramifications for the Arizona Wildcats.</p>
<p>On Friday, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/arizona-sean-miller-fbi-wiretap-2018-2">an ESPN report said head coach Sean Miller had been caught on an FBI wiretap</a> discussing a possible $100,000 payment to secure the signing of Deandre Ayton, a star prospect who joined the team this season. On Saturday, news broke that Miller would not be coaching the Wildcats in their game against Oregon.</p>
<p>Amid the controversy, the standout high-school prospect Shareef O'Neal — a son of the NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal — announced he was decommitting from Arizona and looking to other schools to spend his first, and possibly only, season of college basketball.</p>
<div>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">
At this time I'm am opening up my recruitment due to the current events with the UofA Bball team.I would like to thank all the coaches for recruiting me. At the time my family and I think it's in my best interest to look at other options to assure my play in the NCAA next year. </p>— Shareef O’Neal (@SSJreef) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/967499122461704192?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 24, 2018</a>
</blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>
<p>O'Neal first committed to the Wildcats in April 2017. <a href="http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/22567755/shareef-oneal-decommits-arizona-wildcats-amid-fbi-probe">According to ESPN</a>, because O'Neal didn't sign a letter of intent, instead sticking to nonbinding financial-aid papers with the school, he wouldn't need the school to release him before committing elsewhere.</p>
<p>On Tuesday, O'Neal took to social media yet again, this time to announce that he'd be taking his talents to UCLA in the fall.</p>
<div>
<h1></h1>
<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-version="3" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; width:100%; max-width:100%; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px); width:658px">
<div style="padding:8px;">
<div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:50% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;">
<div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAAGFBMVEUiIiI9PT0eHh4gIB4hIBkcHBwcHBwcHBydr+JQAAAACHRSTlMABA4YHyQsM5jtaMwAAADfSURBVDjL7ZVBEgMhCAQBAf//42xcNbpAqakcM0ftUmFAAIBE81IqBJdS3lS6zs3bIpB9WED3YYXFPmHRfT8sgyrCP1x8uEUxLMzNWElFOYCV6mHWWwMzdPEKHlhLw7NWJqkHc4uIZphavDzA2JPzUDsBZziNae2S6owH8xPmX8G7zzgKEOPUoYHvGz1TBCxMkd3kwNVbU0gKHkx+iZILf77IofhrY1nYFnB/lQPb79drWOyJVa/DAvg9B/rLB4cC+Nqgdz/TvBbBnr6GBReqn/nRmDgaQEej7WhonozjF+Y2I/fZou/qAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div>
</div>
<p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://instagram.com/p/Bfuh-1sD5PK/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_top">HEADING TO UCLA 💛💙 I know my mom is glad I’m staying home LOL</a>
</p>
<p style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#c9c8cd; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by Shareef O'Neal (@shareefoneal) on Feb 27, 2018 at 8:31pm PST on
<time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2018-02-28T04:31:28+00:00">Feb 27, 2018 at 8:31pm PST</time></p>
</div>
</blockquote>
<script async defer src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script>
</div>
<p>"HEADING TO UCLA 💛💙" the caption said. "I know my mom is glad I’m staying home LOL."</p>
<p>While O'Neal was largely able to avoid the fracas of the ongoing investigation, chances are there are still more schools and coaches left to fall in the FBI investigation, and with them, more top recruits who may be scared off by the possibility of coach firings or NCAA sanctions. A report from earlier in February said the FBI had collected "4,000 intercepted calls and thousands of documents and bank records" for its investigation.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/top-nba-draft-prospects-2018-1" >The top 30 prospects of the 2018 NBA draft</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/shaquille-oneals-son-shareef-decommits-arizona-fbi-probe-2018-2#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/300-million-world-cup-stadium-is-nearly-abandoned-2018-6">Brazil spent an estimated $300 million on a World Cup stadium that now sits nearly abandoned</a></p> https://www.businessinsider.com/arizona-sean-miller-fbi-wiretap-2018-2Arizona head coach Sean Miller will not coach Saturday amid FBI probe over potential bribe caught on wiretaphttps://www.businessinsider.com/arizona-sean-miller-fbi-wiretap-2018-2
Sat, 24 Feb 2018 16:02:00 -0500Tyler Lauletta
<p><img src="https://static1.businessinsider.com/image/5a90e13baae60553008b4580-971/sean-miller.jpg" alt="Sean Miller" data-mce-source="Christian Petersen/Getty Images"/></p><p></p>
<ul>
<li><strong>According to an ESPN report, FBI wiretaps recorded University of Arizona head basketball coach Sean Miller discussing a payment of $100,000 in order to ensure the signing of a top recruit.</strong></li>
<li><strong>The news is just the latest to break from the ongoing FBI probe into bribery and corruption within college basketball.</strong></li>
<li><strong>When an Arizona assistant coach was arrested in September, Miller maintained that he knew nothing of potential bribes regarding recruits to the university.</strong></li>
</ul>
<hr/>
<p><br/>Arizona Wildcats head coach Sean Miller may be <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/college-basketball-fbi-investigation-report-2018-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the next domino to fall</a> in the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/college-basketball-bribery-scandal-arrests-2017-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FBI&#39;s investigation into bribery and corruption</a> within college basketball.</p>
<p>According to <a href="https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/22559284/sean-miller-arizona-christian-dawkins-discussed-payment-ensure-deandre-ayton-signing-according-fbi-investigation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a report from ESPN</a>, the FBI intercepted calls in which Miller spoke with Christian Dawkins, a &#34;runner&#34; for sports agent Andy Miller and a central figure of the FBI&#39;s probe. ESPN reports that Miller discussed paying $100,000 in order to make sure that now-freshman Deandre Ayton signed with Arizona.</p>
<p>Dawkins reportedly asked Miller if he should contact Arizona assistant coach <span>Emanuel Richardson with regard to receiving the payment, but Miller said it was best to deal with him directly instead. Both Dawkins and Richardson were among the 10 people arrested in September as part of the bribery investigation.</span></p>
<p><span>On Saturday afternoon, news came out that <a href="https://twitter.com/ghansen711/status/967491433228677120" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Miller would not coach the Wildcats in their game against Oregon</a> later that night.</span><span></span></p>
<p><span>Ayton is now on the Wildcats and widely considered one of the best players in the country. He is averaging 19.6 points and 10.9 rebounds per game and is being discussed as a potential <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/top-nba-draft-prospects-2018-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">first overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft</a>. </span></p>
<p><span>Miller had previously denied any knowledge of Richardson&#39;s alleged bribery to bring players to the team.</span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span>&#34;As the head basketball coach at the University of Arizona, I recognize my responsibility is not only to establish a culture of success on the basketball court and in the classroom, but as important, to promote and reinforce a culture of compliance,&#34; Miller said in a statement released in September. &#34;To the best of my ability, I have worked to demonstrate this over the past eight years and will continue to do so as we move forward.&#34;</span></p>
<p><span>While it looks like Miller may be the next coach to fall to the ongoing FBI investigation, it&#39;s likely he won&#39;t be the last. According to a report from earlier in February, the FBI has reportedly collected &#34;4,000 intercepted calls and thousands of documents and bank records&#34; throughout the course of their probe.</span></p>
<p><span>Arizona is currently ranked 14th in the country, and is projected as a #4 seed in the NCAA Tournament.</span></p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/college-basketball-fbi-investigation-report-2018-2" >'Hall of Fame coaches should be scared': report suggests there are more dominoes to fall in NCAA basketball bribery scandal</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/arizona-sean-miller-fbi-wiretap-2018-2#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-american-men-suck-soccer-world-cup-2018-6">The US women's national team dominates soccer, but here's why the US men's team sucks</a></p> https://www.businessinsider.com/college-basketball-corruption-scandal-big-names-schools-2018-2New documents link some of college basketball's biggest names to the FBI investigation into corruptionhttps://www.businessinsider.com/college-basketball-corruption-scandal-big-names-schools-2018-2
Fri, 23 Feb 2018 10:14:00 -0500Scott Davis
<p><img src="https://static3.businessinsider.com/image/5a902c4eaae60562008b461b-1421/ncaa final four.jpg" alt="ncaa final four" data-mce-source="Ronald Martinez/Getty"/></p><p></p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Yahoo obtained documents from NBA agency ASM Sports that appear to show payouts to current and former college basketball players, their families, handlers, and programs.</strong></li>
<li><strong>The documents include expense reports that range from payments as large as $43,500 to paying for current and former prospects&#39; meals.</strong></li>
<li><strong>The documents appear to tie big-name players and schools to activity that could violate the NCAA&#39;s amateurism rules.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Duke, UNC, Texas, Kentucky, Michigan State, USC, and Alabama are all named in the report.<br/></strong></li>
</ul>
<hr/>
<p><br/>The FBI&#39;s investigation into <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/college-basketball-bribery-scandal-arrests-2017-9">corruption in college basketball</a> could reach some big-name players and schools, <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/exclusive-federal-documents-detail-sweeping-potential-ncaa-violations-involving-high-profile-players-schools-103338484.html">according to a report by Yahoo&#39;s Pat Forde and Pete Thamel</a>.</p>
<p>Forde and Thamel obtained documents from former powerful NBA agent Andy Miller, his former associate Christian Dawkins, and Miller&#39;s agency, ASM Sports, that appear to detail expense reports and cash advancements to college basketball prospects, some of whom are in the NBA today.</p>
<p>According to Forde and Thamel, the documents appear to tie some big-name schools and programs to activity that would violate the NCAA&#39;s amateurism rules.</p>
<p>Some of the examples include what appear to be big payouts to prospects and their families, including programs like Duke, Michigan State, Kentucky, Texas, and others.</p>
<p>One expense report appears to show that Dallas Mavericks rookie point guard Dennis Smith Jr., who went to North Carolina State, received $43,500, while another document shows he received $73,500 in loans. The documents came with a note on how to &#34;recoup&#34; the money when Smith did not sign with ASM.</p>
<p>Another document appears to show that Philadelphia 76ers rookie point guard Markelle Fultz, who went to Washington, received $10,000. He did not sign with ASM.</p>
<p>Expense reports from Dawkins, who was eventually fired from ASM for charging $42,000 in Uber rides to Phoenix Suns guard Elfrid Payton&#39;s credit card, appear to show payments to current and former prospects, their families, handlers, and schools, according to the report. Some payments ranged from $1,100 to nearly $10,000.</p>
<p>Other expense reports from Dawkins appear to show he took some current and former college basketball players to meals. While that in itself is not a violation, according to Yahoo, if Dawkins paid for the meals, it could be a violation. Some players mentioned include Milwaukee Bucks guard Malcolm Brogdon and current college stars like Alabama&#39;s Collin Sexton and Duke&#39;s Wendell Carter.</p>
<p>According to Yahoo, it&#39;s unclear how the NCAA will handle the case, given the breadth and depth of the names potentially involved. Additionally, the ongoing criminal investigation could create other complications for the NCAA.</p>
<p>Miller, who was decertified as an NBA agent in the wake of the investigation, has not yet been charged in the case, according to Yahoo. Dawkins was arrested in September and f<span>aces felony charges of wire fraud and bribery.</span></p>
<p><span>The scandal has cost several people in college basketball their jobs, most notably <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/louisville-rick-pitino-out-college-basketball-bribery-2017-9">Rick Pitino</a> at Louisville.</span></p>
<p><span>According to Yahoo, the case could cast &#34;a pall&#34; over the March Madness tournament because of eligibility issues. Yahoo notes that the criminal investigations could take years to play out, but from the sounds of it, the overall scandal may only just be beginning.</span></p>
<p><a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/exclusive-federal-documents-detail-sweeping-potential-ncaa-violations-involving-high-profile-players-schools-103338484.html">Read the entire report here &gt;</a></p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/college-basketball-corruption-scandal-big-names-schools-2018-2#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-american-men-suck-soccer-world-cup-2018-6">The US women's national team dominates soccer, but here's why the US men's team sucks</a></p> https://www.businessinsider.com/college-basketball-fbi-investigation-report-2018-2'Hall of Fame coaches should be scared': report suggests there are more dominoes to fall in NCAA basketball bribery scandalhttps://www.businessinsider.com/college-basketball-fbi-investigation-report-2018-2
Fri, 16 Feb 2018 11:17:52 -0500Tyler Lauletta
<p><img src="https://static2.businessinsider.com/image/59cd4137c68d7b29008b5647-1000/ap17270593820579.jpg" alt="Rick Pitino" data-mce-source="Robert Franklin/AP"/></p><p></p>
<ul>
<li><strong>A new report suggests that more Hall of Fame coaches and top-tier college basketball programs could be affected by the ongoing FBI probe into corruption within the sport.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Last year, 10 people were arrested on charges of fraud and corruption, including assistant coaches and managers.</strong></li>
<li><strong>The new report described the potential fallout of the investigation &#34;substantial and relentless.&#34;</strong><span></span></li>
</ul>
<hr/>
<p><br/>Last year, an FBI probe into the world of NCAA basketball led to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/college-basketball-bribery-scandal-arrests-2017-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the arrests of 10 people on charges of fraud and corruption within the sport</a>, ranging from assistant coaches to financial advisers and an Adidas executive.</p>
<p>While top-tier coaching names were absent from the arrests, the scandal did <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/louisville-rick-pitino-out-college-basketball-bribery-2017-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cost Louisville head coach Rick Pitino his job</a>. Pitino had spent 17 seasons with the Cardinals, and was one of the winningest active coaches in college basketball at the time.</p>
<p>The media buzz surrounding the case had settled down for some time, but now <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/sources-college-hoops-corruption-case-poised-take-hall-fame-coaches-top-programs-lottery-picks-224417174.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a new report from Pete Thamel at Yahoo Sports</a> suggests that more dominoes in the head coaching world may be soon to fall and some of the nation&#39;s biggest programs could soon feel the wrath of the NCAA.</p>
<p>Sources familiar with the material obtained in the case reportedly described the potential fallout of the investigation to Yahoo as &#34;<span>substantial and relentless.&#34; Materials reportedly collected include &#34;4,000 intercepted calls and thousands of documents and bank records obtained from raids and confiscated computers, including those from notorious NBA agent Andy Miller.&#34;</span></p>
<p>One anonymous source suggested to Thamel that the case could very well bring down many more well known coaches, and have repercussions felt across numerous powerhouse programs.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span>“This goes a lot deeper in college basketball than four corrupt assistant coaches,” said a source who has been briefed on the details of the case. “When this all comes out, Hall of Fame coaches should be scared, lottery picks won’t be eligible to play and almost half of the 16 teams the NCAA showed on its initial NCAA tournament show this weekend should worry about their appearance being vacated.”</span></p>
<p><span>Teams shown on <a href="https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/2018-ncaa-tournament-selection-committee-has-virginia-as-no-1-overall-seed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the initial NCAA tournament show</a> that the source alludes to included the likes of perennial tournament favorites including Duke, North Carolina, Michigan State, Ohio State, Villanova, and more.</span></p>
<p><span>A <a href="https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/22443508/former-adidas-executives-sports-agent-seek-federal-charges-dismissed-men-basketball-corruption-case" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recent report from ESPN</a> also suggested that the probe could potentially reveal corruption amongst the biggest schools in college basketball.</span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span>&#34;It&#39;s not the mid-major programs who were trying to buy players to get to the top,&#34; a source told ESPN. &#34;It&#39;s the teams that are already there.&#34;</span></p>
<p><span>There&#39;s no telling how soon we may learn which teams the case involves, but depending on when it happens and the degree to which programs are exposed, it&#39;s possible that the top of the college basketball world will be drastically changed.</span></p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/lavar-ball-basketball-league-2017-12" >LaVar Ball wants to start a basketball league where players can skip college and get paid $10,000 a month</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/college-basketball-fbi-investigation-report-2018-2#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-womens-soccer-fifa-world-cup-best-american-team-2019-6">The US women's team won the World Cup. Here's why American women are so good at soccer.</a></p> https://www.businessinsider.com/kevin-stallings-pittsburgh-louisville-scandal-comment-2018-1Pittsburgh basketball coach mocks Louisville bribery scandal after blowout loss: 'At least we didn't pay our guys $100,000'https://www.businessinsider.com/kevin-stallings-pittsburgh-louisville-scandal-comment-2018-1
Wed, 03 Jan 2018 09:55:00 -0500Scott Davis
<p><strong><img src="https://static2.businessinsider.com/image/5a4cec05396e373a028b481f-1500/kevin stallings.jpg" alt="kevin stallings" data-mce-source="Keith Srakocic/AP"/></strong></p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Pittsburgh men&#39;s basketball coach Kevin Stallings said to Louisville fans on Tuesday, &#34;At least we didn&#39;t pay our guys $100,000.&#34;</strong></li>
<li><strong>The comment was a reference to the college basketball bribery investigation that alleged Louisville was one of several schools to funnel money to land prospects.</strong></li>
<li><strong>After the game, Stallings said he was sticking up for one of his players that was heckled by Louisville fans.</strong></li>
</ul>
<hr/>
<p><br/>Pittsburgh men&#39;s basketball head coach Kevin Stallings got the last laugh on Tuesday with a brutal burn after his team lost 77-51 to Louisville.</p>
<p>Toward the end of the game, Stallings was heard by reporters yelling at fans, &#34;<span>At least we didn&#39;t pay our guys $100,000&#34; and &#34;We didn&#39;t pay our guys 100 grand, though.&#34;</span></p>
<p><span>The comment was a reference to the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/louisville-rick-pitino-out-college-basketball-bribery-2017-9">bribery scandal at Louisville that cost Rick Pitino his job</a>. An <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/college-basketball-bribery-scandal-arrests-2017-9">ongoing FBI investigation</a> revealed in September that several colleges, including Louisville, had been funneling money to land prospects. The investigation alleged that Louisville paid $100,000 to a prospect named Brian Bowen.</span></p>
<p><span>Asked after the game about his comments, Stallings said he was sticking up for his players after they were heckled by Louisville fans.</span></p>
<p><span>&#34;Somebody said something bad about one of my players, so I&#39;m just gonna stick up for my players,&#34; Stallings said. &#34;Probably said the wrong thing, but I&#39;m not gonna let people talk crap about my players.&#34;</span></p>
<p><span>Louisville&#39;s interim head coach David Padgett shrugged off the incident after the game, saying Louisville has been subjected to heckling at road games all season long due to the scandal and investigation.</span><span></span></p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/highest-paid-nfl-players-2017-2" >The 25 highest-paid players in NFL history</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kevin-stallings-pittsburgh-louisville-scandal-comment-2018-1#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/300-million-world-cup-stadium-is-nearly-abandoned-2018-6">Brazil spent an estimated $300 million on a World Cup stadium that now sits nearly abandoned</a></p> https://www.businessinsider.com/auburn-fires-former-nba-player-chuck-person-2017-11Auburn fires former NBA player Chuck Person after indictment in FBI corruption scandalhttps://www.businessinsider.com/auburn-fires-former-nba-player-chuck-person-2017-11
Thu, 09 Nov 2017 13:27:00 -0500
<p><img src="https://static4.businessinsider.com/image/5a049d3d3dbef48a6a8b4a46-1807/ap701015544353.jpg" alt="Chuck Person" data-mce-source="Mark J. Terrill/AP" /></p><p></p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Auburn has fired associate head coach Chuck Person.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Person was&nbsp;<span>indicted on federal bribery, conspiracy and fraud charges.</span></strong></li>
<li><strong><span>Person played 14 seasons in the NBA.</span></strong></li>
</ul>
<hr />
<p><br />AUBURN, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Auburn has fired associate head basketball coach Chuck Person, who has been indicted on federal bribery, conspiracy and fraud charges.</p>
<p>The university announced the move Wednesday, a day after Person and seven others were indicted by a federal grand jury in New York City.</p>
<p>An Auburn statement says Person "is no longer an employee. As such, this is in the hands of the criminal justice system."</p>
<p>The school says he was fired on Oct. 18. The 53-year-old Person had been suspended without pay following his arrest in September.</p>
<p>His attorney, Theresa Trzaskoma, said Tuesday that Person didn't commit any crimes. Person allegedly received $91,500 in bribes to steer Auburn players to Pittsburgh financial adviser Marty Blazer when they turn pro. Person told Blazer he gave $18,500 of that to the families of two Auburn players, according to a federal complaint.</p>
<p>Auburn is indefinitely holding out center Austin Wiley and forward Danjel Purifoy, citing "potential eligibility issues."</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More college basketball:<span>&nbsp;</span><a href="http://collegebasketball.ap.org/">http://collegebasketball.ap.org</a><span>&nbsp;</span>and<span>&nbsp;</span><a href="https://twitter.com/AP_Top25">https://twitter.com/AP_Top25</a></p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/tom-brady-alcohol-diet-rob-gronkowski-beer-water-2017-9" >We tried the alcohol diet Tom Brady put Rob Gronkowski on, and it was a lot harder than we imagined</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/auburn-fires-former-nba-player-chuck-person-2017-11#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-causes-hurricanes-irma-harvey-jose-sahara-africa-easterly-atlantic-2017-9">Most hurricanes that hit the US and Caribbean islands come from the same exact spot in the world</a></p> https://www.businessinsider.com/braxton-beverly-ncaa-eligibility-decision-2017-10Braxton Beverly's appeal for eligibility denied by NCAA over extra classeshttps://www.businessinsider.com/braxton-beverly-ncaa-eligibility-decision-2017-10
Mon, 30 Oct 2017 18:19:40 -0400Tyler Lauletta
<p><img src="https://static4.businessinsider.com/image/59f7810c3e9d253e2f8b4e3e-1203/braxton-beverly.jpg" alt="Braxton Beverly" data-mce-source="AP Photo/Gerry Broome, File"/></p><p></p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Braxton Beverly&#39;s appeal for eligibility in the 2017-18 season has been denied by the NCAA.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Beverly transferred to North Carolina State from Ohio State after head coach Thad Matta was unexpectedly fired late in the college basketball offseason.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Because Beverly attended summer classes at OSU, he is required to sit out a season as a transfer.</strong><hr/></li>
</ul>
<p>The NCAA has made yet another decision regarding student-athlete eligibility that has many scratching their heads.</p>
<p>On Monday North Carolina State announced that its appeal to make freshman Braxton Beverly eligible for the 2017-18 had been been denied by the governing power of college athletics.</p>
<p>Beverly was originally slated to play for Ohio State, but left the Buckeyes program after the the sudden firing of head coach Thad Matta in June and transferred to North Carolina State. While Beverly had not played yet for Ohio State, he had enrolled in summer classes ahead of his freshman season (as many college athletes do). Due to his enrollment in those classes he will have to sit out his first year at North Carolina State.</p>
<p><span>&#34;Disappointed would be an understatement for how I feel for Braxton, he&#39;s devastated,&#34; NC State coach Kevin Keatts <a href="https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/21226274/nc-state-wolfpack-freshman-braxton-beverly-appeal-denied-ncaa" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">said in a statement</a>. &#34;This is a situation where adults failed a young man and he&#39;s the one paying the price.&#34;</span></p>
<p>NCAA rules about transfers are in place to prevent players from jumping from school to school without repercussions and a sort of pseudo-free agency market would break out for any player no longer happy about their situations.</p>
<p>Beverly&#39;s case, in which the head coach who recruited him was fired unexpectedly before he suited up for the team, is far from that.</p>
<p> </p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ncaa-unc-athlete-essay-decision-sanctions-2017-10" >The NCAA will not sanction UNC after an academic scandal — here's how a student-athlete got an A-minus with a one-paragraph final essay</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/braxton-beverly-ncaa-eligibility-decision-2017-10#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ufc-cutwoman-career-swayze-valentine-female-fighters-cuts-bruises-2019-6">Swayze Valentine is the only female treating fighters' cuts and bruises inside the UFC octagon</a></p> https://www.businessinsider.com/rick-pitino-sues-adidas-ncaa-bribery-scandal-2017-10Rick Pitino is suing Adidas for 'outrageous, wrongful, and illegal conspiracy' after being fired from Louisville amidst a bribery scandalhttps://www.businessinsider.com/rick-pitino-sues-adidas-ncaa-bribery-scandal-2017-10
Tue, 17 Oct 2017 17:59:54 -0400Kate Taylor
<p><img style="float:right;" src="https://static4.businessinsider.com/image/59cd3d4c351ccf7a1a8b5504-853/ap17270593820579.jpg" alt="Rick Pitino" data-mce-source="Robert Franklin/AP"/></p><p>Recently fired Louisville men&#39;s basketball coach Rick Pitino is suing Adidas in an apparent attempt to clear his name after a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/category/college-basketball-scandal">bribery scandal</a> hit the school.</p>
<p><span>Pitino was <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/louisville-coach-rick-pitino-and-adidas-exec-texts-in-bribery-scandal-2017-10">officially fired</a> as Louisville&#39;s men&#39;s basketball coach on Monday, after an FBI investigation into alleged bribery rocked the university. </span></p>
<p><span>On Tuesday, </span>Pitino filed a complaint against Adidas and Adidas North America, claiming that the sportswear company&#39;s alleged bribery scheme had brought down an innocent man. </p>
<p>The complaint states that Pitino had &#34;no part — active, passive, or through willful ignorance&#34; in the bribery described in the FBI&#39;s complaint. <span>Adidas executive Jim Gatto and other defendants are accused of </span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/louisville-rick-pitino-out-college-basketball-bribery-2017-9">funneling $100,000</a><span> to the family of a high-school basketball player to persuade him to commit to Louisville.</span></p>
<p>&#34;Adidas&#39; outrageous and unlawful actions, and the public disclosure of those actions, have resulted in grave damage to Coach Pitino&#39;s public and private standing and reputation, causing him extreme embarrassment, humiliation, and emotional distress,&#34; the complaint reads. </p>
<p>Pitino hopes to clear his name by winning the case.</p>
<p>&#34;This lawsuit is about more than just money; it is Coach Pitino&#39;s vehicle for proving that he had nothing to do with Adidas&#39; outrageous, wrongful, and illegal conspiracy,&#34; the complaint reads. </p>
<p>&#34;Mr. Pitino&#39;s lawsuit is clearly a reaction to his termination yesterday and is without merit,&#34; an Adidas spokesperson shot back in a statement to Business Insider. </p>
<p><img src="https://static6.businessinsider.com/image/550adb7ceab8eadf210069ee-2400/louisville-basketball-cheerleaders.jpg" alt="Louisville Basketball Cheerleaders" data-mce-source="Getty Images"/></p>
<p>Though the complaint states that his claims against Adidas in this case are &#34;entirely independent&#34; from any claims and damages related to his employment, Pitino also has financial incentive to clear his name.</p>
<p>Pitino&#39;s contract with Louisville states that if the coach were to be let go without just cause, the university would still <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rick-pitino-contract-louisville-44-million-2017-10">owe him $44 million.</a> However, if fired with just cause — as <span>Louisville&#39;s Athletic Association</span> unanimously voted to do on Monday — Louisville would not have to pay Pitino the remaining $44 million on his contract.</p>
<p>The FBI complaint said that at least two coaches at the university seemed aware of plans to bribe a Louisville basketball player. In fact, an undercover agent described one of the defendants — Jonathan Brad Augustine, the program director of an Adidas-sponsored teen basketball program — as saying he expected Adidas to fund future bribes to the student in part because of the company&#39;s relationship with a coach at the school.</p>
<p>&#34;No one swings a bigger d--- than [Coach-2]&#34; at Adidas, the agent described Augustine as saying. The complaint did not identify the coach, though Pitino&#39;s complaint says that he believes he is &#34;Coach 2.&#34; </p>
<p>The FBI complaint said that a phone number associated with the coach called Gatto three times in the days before the high-school player committed to Louisville. Pitino has maintained that he and Gatto knew each other, but did not discuss improperly paying a player to play at the university, instead texting about issues such as <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/louisville-coach-rick-pitino-and-adidas-exec-texts-in-bribery-scandal-2017-10">Kanye West&#39;s sneaker line.</a></p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/louisville-coach-rick-pitino-and-adidas-exec-texts-in-bribery-scandal-2017-10" >REVEALED: The texts former Louisville coach Rick Pitino sent to an Adidas exec charged in a bribery scandal that led to Pitino's firing</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rick-pitino-sues-adidas-ncaa-bribery-scandal-2017-10#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bonsai-tree-art-form-japan-china-so-expensive-2019-6">Why bonsai trees are so expensive</a></p> https://www.businessinsider.com/louisville-coach-rick-pitino-and-adidas-exec-texts-in-bribery-scandal-2017-10REVEALED: The texts former Louisville coach Rick Pitino sent to an Adidas exec charged in a bribery scandal that led to Pitino's firinghttps://www.businessinsider.com/louisville-coach-rick-pitino-and-adidas-exec-texts-in-bribery-scandal-2017-10
Mon, 16 Oct 2017 15:32:14 -0400Kate Taylor
<p><img style="float:right;" src="https://static1.businessinsider.com/image/59cd3cd8c68d7b701c8b5160-867/ap090812045558.jpg" alt="Rick Pitino" data-mce-source="Garry Jones/AP"></p><p>Rick Pitino was officially fired as Louisville's men's basketball coach on Monday, as an FBI investigation into a bribery scandal has rocked the university.</p>
<p>In the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/college-basketball-bribery-scandal-arrests-2017-9">FBI's complaint, disclosed last month</a>, the Adidas executive Jim Gatto and other defendants are accused of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/louisville-rick-pitino-out-college-basketball-bribery-2017-9">funneling $100,000</a> to the family of a high-school basketball player to persuade him to commit to Louisville.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/21039369/rick-pitino-says-no-cause-louisville-cardinals-terminate-contract">ESPN reported</a> on Monday that Pitino said in an affidavit that he "had no part — active, passive, or through willful ignorance — in the conspiracy described in the complaint."<a href="http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/21039369/rick-pitino-says-no-cause-louisville-cardinals-terminate-contract"></a></p>
<p>Documents from Pitino's attorney, however, show that the coach and Gatto were in touch. Pitino says they never discussed improperly paying a player to come to Louisville, which would violate NCAA rules.</p>
<p>In the documents, <a href="https://twitter.com/LGonTV">obtained by Spectrum Sports reporter Lyndsey Gough</a>, Gatto and Pitino apparently discuss the former Louisville player Terry Rozier via text message. Pitino also asks whether Gatto can get him a pair of sneakers from Kanye West's sneaker brand Yeezy, which both men misspell.</p>
<p>"Thx Jim -excited about this team -can u give me those white with black stripes Yeesys," Pitino texted Gatto, the documents show.</p>
<p>"Working on that color of Yezzy's<em>,</em>" Gatto responded. "There is a newer all white pair as well that might be easier for me to get."</p>
<div>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">
Here’s Pitino’s texts with Adidas exec Jim Gatto. He spelled Yeezys wrong. Mentions Rozier as he previously claimed <a href="https://t.co/Fr7EVJybWb">pic.twitter.com/Fr7EVJybWb</a> </p>— Lyndsey Gough (@LGonTV) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/919981583968456704?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 16, 2017</a>
</blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>
<p>By themselves, texts about Yeezy sneakers and a coach taking interest in a former player's potential contract with Adidas would not be grounds for terminating a coach's contract. Pitino's attorney is likely to use these texts to argue that while Pitino was in touch with Gatto, Pitino was unaware of any bribery.</p>
<p>However, Louisville's relationship with Adidas is presenting a major problem for the university.</p>
<p>The FBI complaint said that at least two coaches at the university seemed aware of plans to bribe the player. In fact, an undercover agent described one of the defendants — Jonathan Brad Augustine, the program director of an Adidas-sponsored teen basketball program — as saying he expected Adidas to fund future bribes to the student in part because of the company's relationship with a coach at the school.</p>
<p>"No one swings a bigger d--- than [Coach-2]" at Adidas, the agent described Augustine as saying. The complaint did not identify the coach, though it has been assumed to be Pitino.</p>
<p>The FBI complaint said a phone number associated with the coach called Gatto three times in the days before the high-school player committed to Louisville.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/louisville-rick-pitino-out-college-basketball-bribery-2017-9" >Rick Pitino ousted after University of Louisville is linked to college basketball bribery scandal</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/louisville-coach-rick-pitino-and-adidas-exec-texts-in-bribery-scandal-2017-10#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/japanese-melons-cost-price-so-expensive-japan-2019-6">These melons can sell for as much as $22,500 each in Japan</a></p> https://www.businessinsider.com/rick-pitino-fired-louisville-basketball-2017-10Rick Pitino has been officially fired in unanimous votehttps://www.businessinsider.com/rick-pitino-fired-louisville-basketball-2017-10
Mon, 16 Oct 2017 15:09:20 -0400Gary B. Graves
<p><img style="float:right;" src="https://static2.businessinsider.com/image/58d40098d349f97b098b544a-1353/joe robbinsgetty.jpg" alt="Rick Pitino" data-mce-source="Joe Robbins/Getty" /></p><p>LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) &mdash; Louisville's Athletic Association has officially fired coach Rick Pitino nearly three weeks after the school acknowledged that its men's basketball program is being investigated as part of a federal corruption probe.</p>
<p>The association, which oversees Louisville's&nbsp;sports&nbsp;programs and is composed of trustees, faculty, students and administrators, voted to oust the longtime Cardinals coach following a board meeting Monday.</p>
<p>The vote was unanimous, <a href="https://twitter.com/michaeleaves/status/919998339155939329" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">according to Michael Eaves of ESPN</a>.</p>
<p>The association on Oct. 2 authorized university interim President Greg Postel to begin the process of firing Pitino for cause after Postel placed him on unpaid administrative leave Sept. 27.</p>
<p>Pitino, 65, is not named in court complaints in the federal probe but Postel said in a disciplinary letter that the allegations violated his contract.</p>
<p>The move Monday officially ends Pitino's 16-year tenure with the program, a run that included winning the 2013 NCAA championship but was tarnished by several embarrassing off-court incidents.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>For more AP college basketball coverage: http://collegebasketball.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_Top25</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rick-pitino-fired-louisville-basketball-2017-10#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/area-51-american-conspiracy-theories-aliens-history-animation-video-2017-7">How Area 51 became the center of alien conspiracy theories</a></p> https://www.businessinsider.com/ncaa-schools-basketball-programs-bribery-scandal-2017-10More than 2 dozen universities are reviewing their basketball programs in wake of federal corruption scandalhttps://www.businessinsider.com/ncaa-schools-basketball-programs-bribery-scandal-2017-10
Mon, 16 Oct 2017 12:43:25 -0400Eddie Pells
<p><img style="float:right;" src="https://static6.businessinsider.com/image/59e4e13cd4e9203c008b5ad7-719/college-basketball-scandal-raises-financial-concerns-in-kentucky-2017-9.jpg" alt="The KFC Yum! Center where the University of Louisville men's basketball team plays, is pictured in Louisville, Kentucky, U.S., September 28, 2017. REUTERS/Chris Kenning" data-mce-source="Thomson Reuters" data-mce-caption="The KFC Yum! Center where the University of Louisville men's basketball team plays, is pictured in Louisville" /></p><p>The spate of arrests, details of under-the-table bribes to teenagers and the expected downfall of one of the sport&rsquo;s best-known coaches has triggered uncomfortable soul-searching among the institutions at the heart of college basketball, including internal reviews by more than two dozen schools of their own prominent programs.</p>
<p>At stake is the future of a business that, over the span of 22 years ending in 2032, will produce $19.6 billion in TV money for the NCAA Tournament, known to the public, simply, as March Madness.</p>
<p>The NCAA distributes those billions to its conferences and universities, and that figure doesn&rsquo;t include the millions splashed around by shoe companies, who play an outsized role in the success of the programs and the careers of some of their top players.</p>
<p>More than two dozen universities with major hoops programs &mdash; including Louisville, where Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino is in the process of being fired after 16 seasons &mdash; have responded to news of the sport&rsquo;s bribery scandal by conducting internal reviews of their compliance operations.</p>
<p>The Associated Press asked 84 schools, including all the nation&rsquo;s power programs, and six top conferences about their response to the&nbsp;arrests that upended college hoops&nbsp;mere days before practices for the 2017-18 season began around the country.</p>
<p>Of 63 schools that responded, 28 said the probe prompted their own internal reviews. So did the Pac-12 Conference, which&nbsp;formed a task force&nbsp;to dive into the culture and issues of recruiting.</p>
<p>Among the schools reviewing their programs are Arizona, Auburn, Oklahoma State and Southern California; each had assistant coaches arrested as part of the sting.</p>
<p>The list also includes Alabama, where a review led to the resignation of basketball administrator Kobie Baker but unearthed no NCAA violations, according to school officials.</p>
<p>A representative from one school, St. Johns, told AP the NCAA directed all Division I programs to examine their programs for potential rules violations after the federal complaints were filed. The NCAA declined to comment when asked about that specific directive.</p>
<p>But last week, the NCAA&nbsp;formed a fact-finding commission&nbsp;to be led by former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, with results expected in April &mdash; right around the time the NCAA Tournament comes to an end.</p>
<p>&ldquo;My only piece of advice (to young players), don&rsquo;t let the process ruin you because we will. I blame myself,&rdquo; said Tom Izzo of Michigan State, one of the schools conducting a review.</p>
<p>Izzo is convinced players&rsquo; circles grow too large as they near the big-time and fill up with too many people with different agendas.</p>
<p>But in an illustration of wide-ranging perceptions of the issue, Michigan State&rsquo;s cross-state rival, Michigan, said it isn&rsquo;t conducting an internal review and its coach, John Beilein, said &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think the sky is falling in college basketball.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;I think that there&rsquo;s certainly some rogue coaches,&rdquo; Beilein said. &ldquo;How many? Maybe I&rsquo;ll be proven wrong, but I can&rsquo;t believe there&rsquo;s too much of that going out there.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Michigan, 34 other schools and the Big East Conference said they were not specifically responding to the federal probe. But many of the &ldquo;no&rdquo; responses came with the caveat that the school&rsquo;s athletic department is always reviewing its compliance.</p>
<p>Four conferences and 21 schools declined to respond to the AP&rsquo;s survey, including one university that declined to respond on the record but acknowledged privately that it was reviewing its program because of the probe.</p>
<p>The vast majority of schools surveyed have shoe deals with Nike, Adidas or Under Armour. A top&nbsp;Adidas marketing executive&nbsp;was among the 10 people arrested, after authorities spent two years untangling schemes, often bankrolled with money from the apparel companies, to steer future NBA players toward particular sports agents and financial advisers. No players were accused of doing anything illegal, but any recruits found taking any improper benefits&nbsp;could lose eligibility&nbsp;to play.</p>
<p>In many corners, the arrests have been portrayed as the government&rsquo;s response to activities that have long been viewed as business-as-usual in big-time hoops &mdash; a long-awaited reckoning with problems the NCAA has been unwilling&nbsp;or unable&nbsp;to rein in.</p>
<p>An announcement Friday by the NCAA that a seven-year-long investigation into academic fraud at North Carolina&nbsp;would result in no sanctions&nbsp;for the Tar Heels did nothing to promote confidence in the body tasked with keeping its sports clean.</p>
<p>The AP also asked universities if they had been contacted by federal or state law enforcement. Only the schools involved in the federal complaints acknowledged being contacted.</p>
<p>That doesn&rsquo;t mean more isn&rsquo;t coming. Prosecutors have made clear the probe could widen in scope as the investigation continues.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;d say most people agree that this is the tip of the iceberg,&rdquo; said John Tauer, the coach at St. Thomas in Minnesota, which has won two Division III titles this decade. &ldquo;Over the next six months to a year, a lot more chips are going to fall, and you&rsquo;d have to think that schools that aren&rsquo;t diligent right now could end up paying dearly.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Tauer, who doubles as a social psychology professor specializing in issues of sports in society, spends a lot of time wrestling with the NCAA rulebook. His task isn&rsquo;t as high-stakes, though, because scholarship money and big-time shoe deals are essentially nonexistent in Division III.</p>
<p>&ldquo;As an educator and a coach, you&rsquo;re certainly disappointed but not shocked to know this kind of thing goes on,&rdquo; Tauer said. &ldquo;You hear rumors and stories of things that go on in the underworld of recruiting. You always hope they&rsquo;re not true, but you probably know, deep down...&rdquo;</p>
<p>Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak told a story of losing a hard recruiting battle, and his initial reaction was &ldquo;at least we didn&rsquo;t cheat.&rdquo;</p>
<p>He called it his heat-of-the-moment reaction, though he&rsquo;s certainly not blind to the issues confronting his sport. When he arrived at Utah in 2011, his two guiding principles were: &ldquo;We are never going to cheat,&rdquo; and &ldquo;We aren&rsquo;t going to recruit any turds.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t sure in my lifetime that we were going to see anything of this magnitude where the lid got blown off,&rdquo; Krystkowiak said. &ldquo;I was hopeful that at some point somebody&rsquo;s going to pay the price. Now when you get the feds and the FBI involved, it takes it to a new level.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Kansas coach Bill Self, whose school is among those conducting an internal review, said he harbors no illusions about what&rsquo;s at stake.</p>
<p>&ldquo;This is bigger than us just coming up with ideas, this is us coming up with ideas that can withhold all the headwind that&rsquo;s going to be coming toward it,&rdquo; Self said.</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ncaa-schools-basketball-programs-bribery-scandal-2017-10#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/animated-map-where-american-accents-come-from-2018-5">Animated map shows where American accents came from</a></p> https://www.businessinsider.com/rick-pitino-contract-louisville-44-million-2017-10Rick Pitino and Louisville are in a $44 million staredown over a key clause in his contracthttps://www.businessinsider.com/rick-pitino-contract-louisville-44-million-2017-10
Tue, 03 Oct 2017 14:43:59 -0400Tyler Lauletta
<p><img style="float:right;" src="https://static4.businessinsider.com/image/59d3c381351ccf0b158b73e4-1440/rick-pitino.jpg" alt="Rick Pitino" data-mce-source="Joe Robbins/Getty Images"/></p><p></p>
<p>The news coming out of the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/college-basketball-bribe-fbi-shows-dark-side-2017-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">FBI investigation into corruption within NCAA basketball is far from over</a>, but the scandal has already affected the top-tier of college athletics.</p>
<p>Rick Pitino was put on administrative leave by the University of Louisville for <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/louisville-rick-pitino-out-college-basketball-bribery-2017-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">his alleged connection to a plan to funnel $100,000 to the family of a star recruit</a>.</p>
<p>While Pitino&#39;s contract reportedly gives him the chance to plead his innocence, all signs point to Pitino&#39;s tenure as the coach that brought the Cardinals four Final Four appearances and one national title being over.</p>
<p>Complicating matters is another clause in Pitino&#39;s contract that could mean the school is still on the hook to pay the coach the $44 million still left on the deal.</p>
<p>As <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2017/10/03/louisville-and-rick-pitino-could-have-a-43-99-million-difference-of-opinion/?utm_term=.fb4c682dd948" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Matt Bonesteel at the Washington Post explains</a>, according to a letter sent to Pitino by the school, the allegations against him &#34;<span>constitute material violations of your Employment Contract.&#34; Were the courts to agree, Louisville would only owe Pitino for his ten days worth of administrative leave, an amount just over $10,000.</span></p>
<p><span>But as Pitino and his lawyers will likely argue, the coach&#39;s contract cannot be voided so easily, given that he was never formally accused of an NCAA violation.</span></p>
<p><span>The &#34;morality clause&#34; in Pitino&#39;s contract states that the school can fire him for just cause for &#34;Disparaging media publicity of a material nature that damages the good name and reputation of Employer of the University, if such publicity is caused by Employee’s willful misconduct that could objectively be anticipated to bring Employee into public disrepute or scandal, or which tends to greatly offend the public.&#34;</span></p>
<p><span>Additionally, Pitino could be fired for a &#34;Major violation of any rule, or bylaw of Employer, the athletic conference with which the University is then affiliated or the NCAA.&#34;</span></p>
<p><span>While these thresholds would be easily met had the FBI&#39;s investigation involved Pitino&#39;s arrest, as it did the assistant&#39;s at numerous other schools across college basketball, without a specific charge put to Pitino, it will likely be up to the courts to decide whether or not Pitino&#39;s relationship to the case constitutes a violation of his contract.</span></p>
<p><span>For Pitino, the decision could be worth $44 million.</span></p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/marty-blazer-fbi-investigation-adidas-2017-9" >How an NCAA scandal became a major FBI corruption investigation</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rick-pitino-contract-louisville-44-million-2017-10#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/300-million-world-cup-stadium-is-nearly-abandoned-2018-6">Brazil spent an estimated $300 million on a World Cup stadium that now sits nearly abandoned</a></p> https://www.businessinsider.com/adidas-louisville-contract-future-in-question-2017-10Adidas' $160 million contract with Louisville could be in jeopardy after FBI bribery investigationhttps://www.businessinsider.com/adidas-louisville-contract-future-in-question-2017-10
Mon, 02 Oct 2017 14:33:14 -0400Kate Taylor
<p><img style="float:right;" src="https://static6.businessinsider.com/image/550adb7ceab8eadf210069ee-2400/louisville-basketball-cheerleaders.jpg" alt="Louisville Basketball Cheerleaders" data-mce-source="Getty Images"/></p><p>University of Louisville is reevaluating its $160 million sponsorship deal with <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stock/adidas-Quote">Adidas</a> after a bribery scandal <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/louisville-ad-reportedly-fired-with-rick-pitinio-2017-9">rocked the university.</a></p>
<p>After an emergency trustee meeting on Monday, the university&#39;s interim president, Greg Postel, said that the school would &#34;have to look at&#34; the contract, <a href="https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/20895689/louisville-cardinals-re-evaluate-160-million-deal-adidas-wake-scandal">ESPN reported</a>.</p>
<p>Last week, head men&#39;s basketball coach <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/louisville-rick-pitino-out-college-basketball-bribery-2017-9">Rick Pitino was placed on indefinite unpaid administrative leave</a> after Louisville&#39;s basketball program was linked to an <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/college-basketball-bribery-scandal-arrests-2017-9">FBI investigation of bribery</a> in college basketball. The school&#39;s athletic director, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/louisville-ad-reportedly-fired-with-rick-pitinio-2017-9">Tom Jurich</a>, was also placed on paid administrative leave.</p>
<p>An undercover agent <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/adidas-executive-college-basketball-bribery-scandal-2017-9">accused an Adidas executive</a> and several other defendants of funneling $100,000 to the family of a high-school basketball player to persuade the player to sign with an unnamed public research university in Kentucky.</p>
<p>The complaint in which the allegation appeared doesn&#39;t name the university, but it has since been confirmed to be Louisville, which signed a $160 million sponsorship deal with Adidas in August — one of the most expensive college basketball sponsorship deals in the NCAA. </p>
<p><img src="https://static1.businessinsider.com/image/59cd4090351ccf7a1a8b554b-999/ap16300659651181.jpg" alt="Rick Pitino" data-mce-source="Bob Leverone/AP"/></p>
<p>Postel wrote in a letter addressed to Jurich last week that the athletic director acted improperly in his negotiation of the Adidas deal. </p>
<p>&#34;[Y]our recent negotiation of the terms of the updated sponsorship deal with Adidas was conducted without timely or appropriate consultation with me or members of the Board of Directors of the University of Louisville Athletics Association,&#34; <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=adidas%20letter&amp;src=typd">the letter reads. </a></p>
<p>Jurich has close ties to the sportswear company. His daughter, Hayley Jurich, was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ousted-louisville-ad-tom-jurich-daughter-worked-adidas-2017-9">hired by Adidas in March </a>as a NCAA brand communications manager.</p>
<p>Postel said that assumptions regarding the school&#39;s future relationship with Adidas were &#34;premature,&#34; according to ESPN. The 10-year deal is slated to go into effect in 2018. </p>
<p>The multimillion-dollar battle for top-tier college basketball teams is hard fought among sportswear giants. The visibility of high-profile teams and players is a valuable marketing opportunity for apparel companies, even though NCAA players themselves cannot be paid to endorse brands.</p>
<p>The Baltimore Sun reported that Nike was the <a href="http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/under-armour-blog/bal-under-armour-boosts-march-madness-presence-with-12-men-s-teams-20170314-story.html">clear leader in the 2017 NCAA men&#39;s basketball tournament,</a> providing uniforms for 40 entrants. Adidas provided outfits for 15 teams, Under Armour outfitted 12 teams, and Russell Athletic outfitted just one.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/adidas-executive-college-basketball-bribery-scandal-2017-9" >An Adidas executive allegedly used $250,000 in company funds to bribe high school basketball players to play at certain colleges</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/adidas-louisville-contract-future-in-question-2017-10#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nike-air-jordans-sneaker-culture-basketball-collectible-expensive-2019-6">A pair of Air Jordans can resell for up to $2,000. Here's why these iconic Nike sneakers are so expensive.</a></p> https://www.businessinsider.com/looking-back-on-the-biggest-scandals-from-rick-pitinos-career-2017-9A look back at the biggest scandals from Rick Pitino's controversial careerhttps://www.businessinsider.com/looking-back-on-the-biggest-scandals-from-rick-pitinos-career-2017-9
Thu, 28 Sep 2017 16:54:24 -0400Sam Belden
<p><img style="float:right;" src="https://static1.businessinsider.com/image/59cd4090351ccf7a1a8b554b-999/ap16300659651181.jpg" alt="Rick Pitino" data-mce-source="Bob Leverone/AP"></p><p>The <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/marty-blazer-fbi-investigation-adidas-2017-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">recruiting scandal</a> at the University of Louisville may be the biggest story in college sports right now, but this isn't the first time men's basketball head coach Rick Pitino has been in hot water.</p>
<p>For over four decades, the 1987 NABC Coach of the Year has been one of the most highly regarded coaches in the game, assembling championship-caliber squads in multiple conferences and across multiple eras. But he's also demonstrated a tendency to find himself on the wrong side of the NCAA's investigative arm.</p>
<p>Below, check out the greatest and most scandalous moments from one of college basketball's most controversial careers.</p><h3>Rick Pitino was a standout high school point guard from Long Island when he committed to the University of Massachusetts in 1970. With 329 career assists, he still ranks as one of the top passers in program history.</h3>
<p><biembeddedobject id="3e5401a5-444e-4143-b2ac-1cc2ae431566" style="width: 600px; height: 200px;" class="twitter mceNonEditable">Tweet Embed:<br />https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/290893210501386240?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw<br />Para festejar el n&uacute;mero 1 de Louisville,os pongo esta foto del gran Rick Pitino (&eacute;poca de jugador en Massachusetts) <a href="http://t.co/zMEtw1zO">pic.twitter.com/zMEtw1zO</a></biembeddedobject>
<p>&nbsp;</p></p>
<br/><br/><h3>Soon after his graduation in 1974, Pitino started as an assistant coach at the University of Hawaii. A 1977 NCAA report linked him to eight different violations, including paying for round-trip airfare for one of his players and distributing McDonald's coupons to the team.</h3>
<p><biembeddedobject id="359666be-4f4c-4687-8cd7-8554a07d446f" style="width: 600px; height: 200px;" class="twitter mceNonEditable">Tweet Embed:<br />https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/710921880350420993?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw<br />Hawaii assistant coach Rick Pitino (standing far right) in 1975 (H/T <a href="https://twitter.com/rodger_sherman?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@rodger_sherman</a>) <a href="https://t.co/1Lvdc6TLId">pic.twitter.com/1Lvdc6TLId</a></biembeddedobject>
<p><em>Source: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1989/05/24/sports/pitino-unfazed-by-past-infractions.html?pagewanted=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The New York Times</a></em></p></p>
<br/><br/><h3>While Hawaii was placed on two years' probation, Pitino later denied his role in the violations. "I didn't make any mistakes," he said of his time in Honolulu. "I don't care what anybody says."</h3>
<img src="https://static1.businessinsider.com/image/59cd3a21c68d7b29008b55ee-400-300/while-hawaii-was-placed-on-two-years-probation-pitino-later-denied-his-role-in-the-violations-i-didnt-make-any-mistakes-he-said-of-his-time-in-honolulu-i-dont-care-what-anybody-says.jpg" alt="" />
<p><p><em>Source: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1989/05/24/sports/pitino-unfazed-by-past-infractions.html?pagewanted=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The New York Times</a></em></p></p>
<br/><br/><h3>Pitino left Hawaii after the 1977 season and quickly gained fame for his success as a head coach. He led Boston University to a rare NCAA Tournament appearance in 1978 and took Providence all the way to the Final Four in 1987. He also coached the New York Knicks for two seasons.</h3>
<img src="https://static6.businessinsider.com/image/59cd3a6a351ccf20008b5942-400-300/pitino-left-hawaii-after-the-1977-season-and-quickly-gained-fame-for-his-success-as-a-head-coach-he-led-boston-university-to-a-rare-ncaa-tournament-appearance-in-1978-and-took-providence-all-the-way-to-the-final-four-in-1987-he-also-coached-the-new-york-knicks-for-two-seasons.jpg" alt="" />
<br/><br/><h3>In 1989, Pitino took over as head coach at the University of Kentucky, which was on NCAA probation due to a recruiting scandal. There, Pitino established himself as a major figure in college basketball, assembling a number of fast-paced, 3-and-D teams that achieved tremendous success. He won his first national championship in 1996.</h3>
<img src="https://static5.businessinsider.com/image/59cd3ae3c68d7b1c008b55a2-400-300/in-1989-pitino-took-over-as-head-coach-at-the-university-of-kentucky-which-was-on-ncaa-probation-due-to-a-recruiting-scandal-there-pitino-established-himself-as-a-major-figure-in-college-basketball-assembling-a-number-of-fast-paced-3-and-d-teams-that-achieved-tremendous-success-he-won-his-first-national-championship-in-1996.jpg" alt="" />
<br/><br/><h3>Pitino jumped to the NBA again in 1997, when he was named head coach of the Boston Celtics. The nature of the professional game and the often grouchy local fans were constant sources of frustration. In 2000, Pitino lambasted fan negativity in a memorable speech, saying it "makes the greatest town, greatest city in the world, lousy."</h3>
<img src="https://static1.businessinsider.com/image/59cd3bccc68d7b6d118b53a8-400-300/pitino-jumped-to-the-nba-again-in-1997-when-he-was-named-head-coach-of-the-boston-celtics-the-nature-of-the-professional-game-and-the-often-grouchy-local-fans-were-constant-sources-of-frustration-in-2000-pitino-lambasted-fan-negativity-in-a-memorable-speech-saying-it-makes-the-greatest-town-greatest-city-in-the-world-lousy.jpg" alt="" />
<p><p><em>Source: <a href="https://archive.is/20120708184710/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1208/is_11_224/ai_60498918/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">CBS</a></em></p></p>
<br/><br/><h3>While Pitino was already regarded as one of the greatest collegiate coaches in history, NBA success proved much more elusive. He compiled a 102-146 record in less than four seasons with the Celtics and was fired in 2001.</h3>
<img src="https://static3.businessinsider.com/image/59cd3b68c68d7b29008b5608-400-300/while-pitino-was-already-regarded-as-one-of-the-greatest-collegiate-coaches-in-history-nba-success-proved-much-more-elusive-he-compiled-a-102-146-record-in-less-than-four-seasons-with-the-celtics-and-was-fired-in-2001.jpg" alt="" />
<br/><br/><h3>Pitino accepted the head coaching job at the University of Louisville in 2001. By 2005, he was back in the Final Four for the first time in nearly a decade.</h3>
<img src="https://static4.businessinsider.com/image/59cd3c23351ccf83028b57e6-400-300/pitino-accepted-the-head-coaching-job-at-the-university-of-louisville-in-2001-by-2005-he-was-back-in-the-final-four-for-the-first-time-in-nearly-a-decade.jpg" alt="" />
<br/><br/><h3>In 2009, Pitino revealed that he was the victim of an extortion attempt. During the ensuing investigation, he claimed that he had a sexual encounter with Karen Cunagin Sypher in 2003 and paid for her abortion after she became pregnant.</h3>
<img src="https://static3.businessinsider.com/image/59cd3c8fc68d7b6d1e8b51c4-400-300/in-2009-pitino-revealed-that-he-was-the-victim-of-an-extortion-attempt-during-the-ensuing-investigation-he-claimed-that-he-had-a-sexual-encounter-with-karen-cunagin-sypher-in-2003-and-paid-for-her-abortion-after-she-became-pregnant.jpg" alt="" />
<p><p><em>Source: <a href="https://archive.is/20130120005930/http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20090811/SPORTS02/908110350/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Courier-Journal</a></em></p></p>
<br/><br/><h3>In 2010, Sypher, who demanded items like cash and luxury cars in exchange for her silence, was found guilty of extortion and lying to federal agents. While Pitino's infidelity damaged his reputation, he was retained as Louisville's head coach.</h3>
<img src="https://static3.businessinsider.com/image/59cd3cd8c68d7b701c8b5160-400-300/in-2010-sypher-who-demanded-items-like-cash-and-luxury-cars-in-exchange-for-her-silence-was-found-guilty-of-extortion-and-lying-to-federal-agents-while-pitinos-infidelity-damaged-his-reputation-he-was-retained-as-louisvilles-head-coach.jpg" alt="" />
<p><p><em>Source: <a href="http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/news/story?id=6136611" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ESPN</a></em></p></p>
<br/><br/><h3>In 2016, Louisville self-imposed a postseason ban on its men's basketball team after an NCAA investigation confirmed a major scandal. In her book "Breaking Cardinal Rules," escort Katina Powell alleged that a number of dancers had been brought onto Louisville's campus to strip and have sex with players and recruits between 2010 and 2014.</h3>
<img src="https://static5.businessinsider.com/image/59cd3d4c351ccf7a1a8b5504-400-300/in-2016-louisville-self-imposed-a-postseason-ban-on-its-mens-basketball-team-after-an-ncaa-investigation-confirmed-a-major-scandal-in-her-book-breaking-cardinal-rules-escort-katina-powell-alleged-that-a-number-of-dancers-had-been-brought-onto-louisvilles-campus-to-strip-and-have-sex-with-players-and-recruits-between-2010-and-2014.jpg" alt="" />
<p><p><em>Source: <a href="http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/14721089/louisville-cardinals-basketball-self-imposes-postseason-ban-2015-16-season" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ESPN</a></em></p></p>
<br/><br/><h3>Pitino was shocked by the self-imposed penalty, but he was still slapped with additional punishments. The NCAA suspended him for the first five games of the 2017-18 ACC season for failure to monitor his program.</h3>
<img src="https://static3.businessinsider.com/image/59cd3da0351ccf89468b4e1a-400-300/pitino-was-shocked-by-the-self-imposed-penalty-but-he-was-still-slapped-with-additional-punishments-the-ncaa-suspended-him-for-the-first-five-games-of-the-2017-18-acc-season-for-failure-to-monitor-his-program.jpg" alt="" />
<br/><br/><h3>In September 2017, it was announced that Louisville was under investigation for an alleged "pay for play" scandal. While the criminal complaint did not mention specific names, it appears to involve a deal in which top recruit Brian Bowen would commit to Louisville and sign with Adidas upon turning pro.</h3>
<img src="https://static3.businessinsider.com/image/59cd3e88c68d7b26008b55f5-400-300/in-september-2017-it-was-announced-that-louisville-was-under-investigation-for-an-alleged-pay-for-play-scandal-while-the-criminal-complaint-did-not-mention-specific-names-it-appears-to-involve-a-deal-in-which-top-recruit-brian-bowen-would-commit-to-louisville-and-sign-with-adidas-upon-turning-pro.jpg" alt="" />
<p><p><em>Source: <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/college-basketball/2017/9/26/16367526/louisville-fbi-investigation-college-basketball-scandal-rick-pitino" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">SBNation</a></em></p></p>
<br/><br/><h3>On September 27, Pitino and athletic director Tom Jurich were placed on unpaid administrative leave, bringing an end to a 16-season tenure for the head coach. Pitino's camp vowed to fight the decision.</h3>
<img src="https://static4.businessinsider.com/image/59cd3fd0351ccf20008b59a2-400-300/on-september-27-pitino-and-athletic-director-tom-jurich-were-placed-on-unpaid-administrative-leave-bringing-an-end-to-a-16-season-tenure-for-the-head-coach-pitinos-camp-vowed-to-fight-the-decision.jpg" alt="" />
<p><p><em>Source: <a href="http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/20834710/louisville-head-coach-rick-pitino-athletic-director-tom-jurich-put-leave" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ESPN</a></em></p></p>
<br/><br/><h3>Now check out who made the most money in the golf world this year.</h3>
<img src="https://static3.businessinsider.com/image/59aef85d79bbfd0d288b8262-400-300/now-check-out-who-made-the-most-money-in-the-golf-world-this-year.jpg" alt="" />
<p><h3><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-20-highest-paid-golfers-on-the-pga-tour-2017-9">The 20 highest-paid golfers on the PGA Tour</a></h3></p>
<br/><br/> https://www.businessinsider.com/college-basketball-bribery-scandal-paying-players-2017-9The basketball world is convinced that the bribery scandal engulfing college basketball comes down to paying playershttps://www.businessinsider.com/college-basketball-bribery-scandal-paying-players-2017-9
Thu, 28 Sep 2017 14:56:13 -0400Scott Davis
<p><img style="float:right;" src="https://static3.businessinsider.com/image/59cd404c351ccfd9008b5921-1333/kentucky.jpg" alt="kentucky" data-mce-source="Mark Humphrey/AP"/></p><p>The <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/college-basketball-bribery-scandal-arrests-2017-9">FBI investigation that led to the arrest of 10 people in college basketball</a> on Tuesday showed a dark underside of the sport.</p>
<p>According to court documents, several assistant coaches, financial advisers, and managers had been accepting or paying bribes to have coaches exert influence over prospects to join a school and, down the line, use those same financial advisers.</p>
<p>The FBI&#39;s investigation is ongoing and more colleges, coaches, advisers, agents, and brands figure to be involved as the case expands.</p>
<p>To many, the root of this issue is the NCAA&#39;s amateurism laws that state college athletes cannot be paid. While the schools, coaches, and brands all make money off of the game, keeping the athletes unpaid results in a black-market race for talented prospects who can further enrich those involved in college basketball.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/20841877/until-ncaa-solves-money-problem-pays-athletes-problems-continue">ESPN&#39;s Jay Bilas</a>, a noted advocate for paying college athletes, argued:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">&#34;When have you ever heard of a coach being steered to an agent? When have you ever heard of bribes to get a coach to accept a job? When have you ever heard of a bribe to get an athletic director to switch schools? You don&#39;t hear such things because those people are allowed to be paid in a free market. It is an aboveboard business, and it works in an orderly fashion. There are contracts with contract remedies. That pesky free market works incredibly well and efficiently for everyone else; it is foolish to assert that it would not work just as well for college athletes.&#34;</p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/jay-bilas-college-basketball-players-have-discussed-protesting-final-4-2016-4">Bilas told Business Insider</a> in 2016: &#34;<span>There’s no argument that this is a multibillion-dollar business that is professional in every way except how the athletes are treated. The only student in college that is subject to a wage restriction is an athlete. That’s one thing that should be remedied immediately.&#34;</span></p>
<p>Chris Spatola, a former college coach and player, compared the situation to Prohibition. Making alcohol illegal did not eliminate alcohol, Spatola argued; it created a black market. <a href="http://kentsterling.com/2017/09/26/espns-chris_spatola-talks-about-the-present-and-future-of-college-basketball-and-louisville/">Spatola explained to CBS&#39;s Kent Sterling</a> that he&#39;s not an advocate for &#34;pay for play&#34; but believes athletes should be able to make money in other ways:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">&#34;But why can&#39;t you allow these kids to go out and enter into third-party deals? With a shoe company, for example, or an agent. Or why can&#39;t Johnny Manziel go out and hold an autograph signing where he is paid for that? What you do, Kent, is you bring the money into the light of day. What the NCAA is doing right now is forcing the money underground. And you&#39;re going to have these people who are waiting to invest in these elite talents that are worth a lot of money, and they&#39;ll find ways, corruptive ways, to make money off those elite talents.&#34;</p>
<p>As Bilas noted, the NCAA is a multibillion dollar business that makes money off of the athletes in the form of TV deals, jersey, and more. Paying the athletes may not only be fair, but it could help end the corruption in the sport.</p>
<p>New York Knicks forward Michael Beasley also argued that college athletes should be paid. Bribery and corruption in college basketball is often motivated by schools, agents, and brands&#39; desires to land big-time players who can benefit from the exposure. Beasley, who went to Kansas State and entered the NBA in 2008, argued that players already do that:</p>
<p><span>&#34;I went to a small school in Manhattan, Kansas, that nobody heard of, and now that city of Manhattan has multiplied by five, six. Should I be compensated?&#34; Beasley said on Wednesday. &#34;They sold my jerseys ... Do I think most of the players should be compensated? Yes. Because most of us don’t make it to this level. A lot of us don’t make it to the professional level, let alone the NBA. So I do think guys should be getting paid. The NCAA is making billions.&#34;</span></p>
<p><span>These ideas remain controversial and complicated. Opponents of paying college athletes believe that athletes receiving scholarships, free education, nutritional care, and sometimes stipends, is compensation enough. As Bilas noted, &#34;Players are certainly not mistreated, but they are exploited.&#34;</span></p>
<p><span>On the players&#39; ends, their handlers, be it parents or someone else, have figured out the way to exploit that by getting paid for their services under the table. Until that&#39;s no longer necessary, such underground deals may keep happening.</span></p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/college-basketball-corruption-gotten-worse-says-coach-2017-9" >A college basketball coach who coaches for 'the right reasons' says corruption has gotten worse in recent years</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/college-basketball-bribery-scandal-paying-players-2017-9#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tiger-woods-net-worth-successful-golfer-makes-spends-millions-2019-6">Tiger Woods has won more money than any other golfer. Here's how he makes and spends his millions.</a></p> https://www.businessinsider.com/basketball-revenue-louisville-rick-pitino-2017-9Men's basketball became big business under Rick Pitino at the University of Louisvillehttps://www.businessinsider.com/basketball-revenue-louisville-rick-pitino-2017-9
Thu, 28 Sep 2017 14:24:00 -0400Cork Gaines and Mike Nudelman
<p>Rick Pitino has been <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/louisville-rick-pitino-out-college-basketball-bribery-2017-9">&#34;effectively fired&#34;</a> after the latest scandal to hit the University of Louisville men&#39;s basketball team. While some have openly wondered why it took so long, one look at how much money the basketball team was making should make that clear.</p>
<p>When Pitino took over the Louisville program in 2001, it was already one of the top money-makers in college basketball. However, since then, the program&#39;s revenues have skyrocketed. Over the last ten reporting years, Louisville men&#39;s basketball took in $356 million, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/rick-pitino-louisville-college-basketball-scandal-2017-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">$116 million more than any other team</a>.</p>
<p>The chart below looks at how much money Louisville men&#39;s basketball made and spent during Pitino&#39;s tenure compared to the other top revenue programs when he started. As is abundantly clear, Louisville was doing well, and then it became a juggernaut, money-making machine. </p>
<p> </p>
<p><img src="https://static4.businessinsider.com/image/59cd3aff351ccfd9008b58bf-1200/cotd928.png" alt="COTD_9.28" data-mce-source="Mike Nudelman/Business Insider"/></p>
<p><em>Schools included in the average are the other schools in the top 11 in men&#39;s basketball revenue in 2002, including Arizona, UNC, Kentucky, Syracuse, Texas, Ohio State, Indiana, Maryland, Duke, and Kansas.</em></p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/basketball-revenue-louisville-rick-pitino-2017-9#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ufc-cutwoman-career-swayze-valentine-female-fighters-cuts-bruises-2019-6">Swayze Valentine is the only female treating fighters' cuts and bruises inside the UFC octagon</a></p>